Search form

Washington state text message privacy cases

Washington state text message privacy cases

EFF urged the Washington State Supreme Court to recognize that text messages are “the 21st Century phone call” and require that law enforcement obtain a warrant before reading texts on someone’s phone.

In this case, police seized a cell phone during a drug investigation, and monitored incoming messages. Officers responded to several texts, setting up meetings that resulted in two arrests. Prosecutors have argued that there should be no expectation of privacy in text messages, as anyone can pick up someone else’s phone and read what’s stored there. But in two related amicus briefs, EFF argues that searching the phone for the texts clearly violates the Constitution.

In February 2014, the Washington Supreme Court agreed with us in both cases, ruling the search of the text messages was unlawful.

Related Content

On back-to-back days this week, residents in Texas and Washington received some extra legal protection for the contents of their cell phones. These decisions, while only binding on law enforcement within each respective state, could play an important role on the ongoing debate on cell phone privacy specifically, and applying...

As the year draws to a close, EFF is looking back at the major trends influencing digital rights in 2013 and discussing where we are in the fight for free expression, innovation, fair use, and privacy. Click here to read other blog posts in this series.
As the ...

As text messages become a universal method for personal communication across the country, courts are struggling with applying quill-era Fourth Amendment principles to the modern form of communication. A new amicus brief we filed in a case before the Rhode Island Supreme Court explains that no...

Are police allowed to rummage through the contents of a cell phone when a person is arrested? The U.S. Supreme Court is currently deciding whether to grant review in two cases involving the thorny issue. Together with the Center for Democracy and Technology, we've filed an amicus...